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In the African Bush a male impala sees a harem of females and he will strut around and show his stuff and contesting with the current king of the group, in the hope of attracting them to him.

Do you remember the days when we had to write letters that took weeks for a response or Faxes that were more receptive in time responses?

Before the ubiquity of online businesses when, companies with sufficient capital could only take advantage of attraction marketing by using offline forms of media, such as television, radio, and print materials, which are usually expensive. But since the Internet boosted online innovation, newbie digital marketers can now use much better more effective attraction-marketing tools available on the web at no cost.

Enter Attraction Marketing.

Attraction marketing is similar to attending a single’s event hoping to find “the one.” You’re more likely to attract interest from fellow singletons if you dress to the nines, use a puff of perfume and truly get into character of “attractive single ready to date.” But, if you appear sloppy, bring your B-game, and make little effort to pique people’s interest, chances are, you’ll return home having made no new contacts while cuddling your clowder of cats.

The primary objective of attraction marketing is to draw people’s attention toward your business “naturally,” and your success depends on how attractive you appear to your prospects. You have to seduce them with all that’s great about your service and identify those who wish to do business with you, then work with them to reach a common objective.

In the past few years, the idea of generating more cash flow from the first day you start your business has lead the way for many entrepreneurs who had struggled previously. This is not to say that we don’t have to work our “rusty dustys” off and probably need to invest more time and effort than in a “normal” 9-5 job.

In the flash of a lightning bolt across the sky an AHA moment was switched on and many people could see how they could create cash flow whilst still growing a successful business. The idea of attraction marketing is that you attract prospects to you rather than spending time having to chase them.

What this means is that you no longer have to hassle friends or family to join your amazing business proposition. This never really works as they join to try to support you and end up not having the same passion and belief as you do about your new found path to time & financial freedom. It also means you can relax at social occasions and don’t need to view everyone you speak to as a potential business prospect.

Attraction marketing secrets means that you attract targeted leads that you know will help to build the business. You’ll attract long term prospects and can start to generate money right from the start. How do we achieve this? The idea of attraction

marketing has kick-started a trend amongst many new entrepreneurs. They have now realized that it is possible to attract prospects by tapping into the powers of the Internet. The Internet effectively closes all boundaries and allows us to reach out to people across the world.

Let just retrace our steps though…..Back in the day when we were growing up in the 60’s our parents were attending “Tupperware” Parties or the “Avon” lady would knock on the door. Back then, this was how they network Marketed and how they attracted people to their product, service or Opportunity.

Network marketing is less restricted to approaching just the people you are familiar with. The fact of the matter is that attraction marketing secrets are sensible marketing tactics rather than secrets. You do your business by sending a message out to the people who actually want to hear about it. When this concept first started it was door to door and one to one, now we are so fortunate that we can reach copious amounts of people in an instant.

This capability of attracting many prospects and even better prospects that have the time and inclination to listen to your business offers, is a powerful one. It gives you an opportunity to get to the same level as those people who knew this, but chose to keep you in the dark when you were struggling before.

Prospects are added to your email list so you can frequently send them more valuable content.

During the third stage, your follow-up content will help potential customers decide whether or not to pursue business with you, so it’s vital that you’re on point with what you send them for greater marketing success. According to Demand Metric, “Content marketing generates three times as many leads as traditional outbound marketing, but costs 62% less.”

One of the key advantages of online attraction marketing is that people give you permission to communicate with them. Once they’ve entered their details on your lead capture page, they’re fully aware and accepting of the fact that they’re about to receive your content. This makes them less likely to unsubscribe since it was a choice that they made.

From positioning yourself as a valuable source to making the offer, you have to maintain the quality of your brand to the highest possible level. Your prospects are consistently going to be directed to your website and blogs so you must fine tune your content and re

main attractive for your existing and potential customers.

Attraction marketing should always be a part of your marketing endeavours and not just a momentary infatuation. It will keep your brand on its toes with regards to the way you appear in the public.

Scrub up well, smoothen your company’s rough edges and take full advantage of the efficacy of attraction marketing.

Every single person that I have met totally believes and is passionate about this business. It is so much more that what anyone expects! Great friendships are made, Time freedom is created, a quality of life is enhanced.

The ABC’s Strategies of Attraction Marketing!

One thing you cannot deny when it comes to building a successful Network Marketing business online is this….

Out of all the successful people doing it, 99% are doing so by utilizing a concept called “Attraction Marketing”.

Attraction marketing Pulls instead of Pushes?

It is something we all use in our everyday life whether we realize it or not. It’s been a method of attracting people to you so you can make sales, support others, or give advice that’s needed or whatever else we want. This method is mostly done offline. Online attraction marketing is done a little differently because you don’t have the 1-2-1 interaction. In order to have the most effective outcome, you have to learn how to skillfully orchestrate your words in a way that makes you become the magnet and your audience the steel. Having a magnetic “message” or way of communicating to your audience that “PULLS” them into your circle is attraction marketing.

It’s a strategy that when done correctly, has the ability to turn you into “The hunted, instead of the hunter”. And when that happens, it becomes much easier, to start creating free leads and sponsoring more reps into your business…. On a daily basis!

How does it work?

Life in general has become a “dog eat dog” world where we have to pay for almost everything including the air we breathe. It is a highly competitive world and to be noticed we need to really get to what we all crave – Value and understanding!

The attraction system is founded upon the principle that instead of going and find people to sell to, people need what you are selling and track you down.

This is the ideal style of marketing for anybody in the network marketing or multi level marketing business.

By cutting down the quantity of time you spend chasing new business, it increases the amount of time you have got to market your products and attract people to you.

The great thing is that the people you attract will not just be those desiring to purchase your products, they may well also desire to benefit from your success and join your network marketing business.

Seeing a pain and you find a way to solve that pain without being a sleazy salesperson. Now that you know what attraction marketing is let’s get into the ABC’s of attraction marketing.

The ABC’s of attraction marketing

A = Aligning your message with your audience in an authentic way. When you know what you know, you know how to teach this to your audience. ‘Sell the thing that explains the thing” – When you pretend to know it all and try to sell something, it comes across as fake. Let’s keep it real! We don’t know everything so keep it simple. The only way you can successfully persuade your audience is to be authentic and endorse only what you have experienced. People are smart and they can spot a con within seconds. Don’t underestimate your target audience. Being real will get your more friends and show you care than being fake and posting what you have no clue about or posting someone else’s results as your own. To be a leader you have to act like one.

The ABC’s of attraction marketing

B = Believe in your products or services, and your ability to assist your target customer with any issue that comes up. It is important to be accessible to your customer and to let them know that what you’re offering is quality. Remember, when your prospect feels you are a person of quality, they won’t have any problem believing that you represent quality. I can’t stress this enough; if you don’t believe then no one else will either.

The ABC’s of attraction marketing

C = Communicating and connecting in a consistent manner. Your audience wants to hear from you in a personable, direct way. Consistency implies a regular basis, but the key is setting the schedule in a way that your audience expects to hear from you. Make each piece of content connect with your audience instead of a “sales pitch”. I always post around the same time every day on my Instagram account and the rest are random. Generally, the all around the same time each day.

Conventional selling techniques often tend to lose touch with one extremely simple but crucial fact, people like to buy, however there isn’t anything certain to put a potential customer off a purchase faster than an assertive or pushy salesperson or advert.

With attraction marketing, the idea is to take the need to buy which already exists, and satisfy that need by giving the customer what they want.

It is no longer about selling product, attraction marketing relies on the concept that the best advert for the products you are selling is you.

Do you know when People say “ it sounds too good to be true” – this is because we have begun the sales pitch. This is when it starts to get pitchy and spammy and this is when you lose your potential customer.

Products do not sell products, people sell products and with attraction marketing techniques you can become successful quicker. You brand yourself as the most wanted part of the package and the sales follow.

If you’re a network marketer or have a multi level marketing business, attraction marketing is the simplest way to do business. You do not waste your time running after disinterested prospects or customers, instead you can free your time for doing more profitable things to promote yourself and your products and giving value!

The people you attract to your product / service / opportunity will be pre-qualified and won’t only need your products but may want to become part of your team.

With the economy the way in which it is, there are many hundreds of people looking for ways to make additional money. There also are lots of network promoters who are looking to switch their business for any number of reasons. Other network marketers are the perfect potential. Don’t simply tell them how great your opportunity is though. They have probably heard it all before and the hard sell won’t work. You’ve got to show them that with your opportunity they can have the business & the freedom they are really looking for, and become successful with you to help them.

How do you Hook the interest and intrigue?

Picture of a person fishing….

Have you ever been fishing where the art ofthe sport is putting a lure on that will attract that fish. Sometimes the fish are interested and other time one sits and waits and waits and waits. Patience is also a skill that we need to learn in this industry. Suddenly one takes the bait and it is hooked and then there seems to be a momentum that follows. When you are fishing for Tuna, one takes the bait and suddenly all the reels are whizzing out of control.

The same applies here..

Attraction marketing is the process of drawing interest to a company, product or service using carefully devised techniques. The goal is to attract potential customers to the way the item has bettered the seller’s own life. The company representative must develop a comfort level and relationship with the prospect first, then convince the prospect that the product, service or company can give him the same positive results.

If you use attraction marketing in the right way, your prospects and your target audience will think of you as a trusted leader and provider – not as a pushy salesman. Therefore, you’ll be able to attract and convert more without lots of pitching and convincing, because they know, like and trust you.

It is the strongest subconscious sales method, as it does not push any sale, but rather builds rapport with the prospective client or associate and a genuine interest in what you are offering. Attraction Marketing is more about sharing value rather than sellingand letting the right people come to you rather than going to them and pushing the sale.

As a home business entrepreneur, you’re trying to get people to join you by becoming a customer and buying your products or you’re trying to get them to become an affiliate and join you in the business opportunity to earn an extra income to enhance their lives. Either way, your goal is to get as many people as possible in front of your presentation to learn more about what your company offers.

But, how do you do that?

How do you get people to take a look at what you’ve got?

The problem is, a lot of people are scared of the objections that they are inevitably going to get. They don’t want to bother friends and family, they don’t want to do three-way calls, they don’t want to do home parties and local meetings. They don’t want to have to talk to everyone within 3 feet of them or use the traditional old school methods of promoting their deal.

So how do you use attraction marketing in the right way?

Steps to Utilizing Attraction Marketing in Your Business

Attraction Marketing is not a new concept, but it has grown bigger and easier to use, with the advent of the internet and the social media.

There are many tools you can use in Marketing to attract an audience, depending on the type of business and the branding. I have included the four basic Attraction Marketing tools, that top Marketers use:

–Free Advice through Blogs, posting Articles online, Guest Columns in Magazines, Video Blogs, and Newsletter: If you are an expert in your field, you have an expert know-how which can help others. By sharing useful information for free with your audience on a constant basis, you not only keep them engaged with what you do and build a relationship of trust, but you also educate your audience about your product/service. People who resonate with this information that you are sharing and find it useful, most probably will someday become your clients, associates, business partners or recommend you to others.

– Free Giveaways: There is a reason all successful Internet Marketers and many bestselling authors utilize Free Giveaways, especially during product launches. If you have a new product coming out, giving a free preview like chapters of a book you are launching or a training video about a new product which provides valuable information that people can use to benefit even if they don’t make the purchase right away, is more likely to get people interested in eventually buying your product, than traditional advertising of the product. Free Giveaways can also take the form of offering a free seminar, free consultation, product sample or special event targeted to your audience.

– Connect through Social Media – It may have become a cliche, but social media play a big role in utilizing attraction marketing to connect with customers and attract new ones, when used correctly. A word of warning: don’t use social media to constantly directly promote your product, as this is not attraction marketing. Always keep in mind that people go on social media mainly to socialize and relax. Share useful and helpful information, present successful happenings in your business, share your events, articles, photos and have people asking to find out more about what you do!

– Create Controlled Publicity – If you can find ways to get in touch with key press individuals and present your work in popular local and international media (TV, Newspapers, Magazines, Radio, Popular News Portals) through articles, interviews and presentations done by journalists, you can skyrocket your Attraction Marketing ratio, provided these presentations are of high quality and do not look like advertisements. People tend to believe more what the media say as true, than what you tell them directly, so if you get positive coverage by the media, you instantly gain credibility. It’s a common truth in the publishing world, that if you are lucky enough to get invited by Oprah on her show when you have a book launch, then you probably have an instant best-seller without much additional promotion!

Attraction marketing involves a few things if you want to do it the right way.

You’re going to need to be building your email list. Because as you attract people to yourself, you want to be able to contact them via email with different offers, but you also want to be able to send them your awesome blog posts or videos. For example, you have a blog and your goal is to give away what we call a lead magnet. Your lead magnet is going to be something that people are going to want to give you their email address in exchange for access to it. So, they can opt into your website and get that free item that you’re giving away. When they opt in, they are now on your email list, and this is your chance to promote or recommend different offers and products to them. The more people that you have on your list, the more sales you can potentially make.

For attraction marketing, you also need to have a place where people can come to get to learn more about you and the best place for that to happen is by having a personally branded blog. It is not an option. You must have a blog so that you can put your content on your blog and continue to share that content so that people will begin to like you. They’ll come and watch all of your videos and read all of your posts. It’s amazing to me when I go to different events, to hear people say, “Hey, Suzy from Kenya, I’ve watched all of your videos.” They immediately feel like they know me when they see me out in public. We may have never even met, but yet they’ve watched so many of my videos, they feel like they know me and that’s what you want.

What……No objections!!!

One of the best things about using attraction marketing is that you don’t get objections when people are coming to you. Objections arise when you are the one reaching out and prospecting, and you’re contacting people to pitch them on your opportunity. That’s when you get questions like, “Well how much are you making?” “How long have you been doing this?” Those questions don’t happen when people are attracted to you and they just want to join you, because of who you are. They want to find out what business opportunity is she in because I want to join her.

I was recently at an event where no one spoke about their Company but they just connected with the person and it was a real bond experience. It creates a likeness and a commonality this automatically attracts people to you. People don’t join the business, they join you.

You really want to work on attraction marketing. It’s the simplest way to do it, to get people to join you in business, and that is when you’re giving value, you’re putting out content, and people are beginning to like you. That’s really the bottom line. That is what attraction marketing is.

The Do’s and Don’ts

Attraction Marketing has been one of the biggest buzzwords in network marketing these days. And it is in fact a very powerful prospecting tool if done correctly.

Unfortunately, as with any industry its core message has been fazed and fogged as the term has been passed on from marketer to marketer and its core message seems to have been miss-interpreted.

There has been a lot of negativity lately about the awfulness of direct sellers methods of pushing their products on social media, and basically alienating their friends and families who are sick of seeing “buy my stuff” and “join my team” constantly. And you know what? They’re right!

Yes, I’m saying that even though 1 – I’m a consultant, 2 – I run a social media training company, and 3 – I do most of my business on social media. There are simply correct and incorrect ways to market small business online – including direct sales businesses.

People come to Facebook for two primary reasons: to connect socially, and to be entertained. If you are not serving one of those purposes with your personal posts, then you need to rethink your strategy.

If you wouldn’t do something in person, don’t do it online. Would you walk into a crowded room and yell “who wants a new business?!” to a bunch of strangers? No. It’s like we’ve forgotten about basic social etiquette.

In this DO’s & DON’Ts segment, I hope to grab your attention to many of the mistakes being done with regard to attraction marketing so that both new and old network marketers can fully understand this “new” powerful tool for prospecting.

So let’s get started.

DON’T:

Post constant business content on your personal Facebook profile. It’s against Facebook policy, and frankly, just tacky to push your business content into the newsfeed of people who you are supposed to be friends with socially. Do this constantly, and expect some unfriending.

Add people to private Facebook groups without their consent. People want control over their own news feeds, and suddenly you’ve put the burden on them to leave the group they never opted-in to in the first place. I’m now the horrible awful friend that doesn’t support your business because I left a group I never asked to join.

Tag your friends on business posts on your personal page. It forces the content into the newsfeed of your friend’s friends, and is a sneaky underhanded way to expand your reach. Taking advantage of your friends in this way (especially those with large friend counts) is so underhanded, it’s almost brilliant. But if they are equally brilliant, they’ll tell you to chill out on the “Oh my gosh, this amazingly awesome thing I sell made me think of you!!” [while tagging 15 of your best friends].

Invite 1500 of your closest friends (or those you haven’t spoken to since 8th grade) to your Facebook parties. Cattle call for jewelry, or makeup, or skin care, or nail wraps, or home decor – fun! No. Expect very low responses and engagement.

Friend someone you haven’t talked to in forever, and immediately hit them with your fan page link. Really? You only want me for my “like”? I feel so cheap.

All this stuff is just off putting and unprofessional, makes you look desperate, and is what gives direct sales and small business people a bad rap. It’s creating relationships that are now only based on avoidance, and is what will burn out your warm networking within a few months and leave you no one left to sell to. Now read on…

DO:

Setup a Facebook business page if your brand allows it. Post your business content there. Invite your connections to come over and like your page. Send them personal messages inviting them. But by all means, do NOT send an invite to your fan page to someone you haven’t ever had an in-real-life conversation with, or someone you haven’t talked to since 8th grade. Or warm contacts under the coy veil of “we haven’t chatted in so long! Come see what I’m doing now!” It’s kinda transparent. Trust me – no one is going to buy from someone with whom they have zero social relationship.

Genuinely engage with your friends, and build personal reciprocity. Your true friends and family want to support your business. They really do. They just don’t want to be pressured, feel guilty, or constantly exposed to it. Trust me, they know what you sell. You don’t need to remind them every other minute.

Create original content that reflects your online personality and voice. Your content should follow an 80/20 rule. 20% business stuff, 80% everything else. Find your voice, cultivate your style, and use it. People will engage because they like you.

Create community and personal engagement on your fan page or VIP group. Give your fans a reason to come back – and guess what, it probably won’t be because of your product. They are coming back because of YOU. What do you have to offer? Your humour? Your amazing tips? Your stunning sense of fashion? Your brilliant blog posts (ahem)? That’s your community.

Invite only a small group to your Facebook parties or sales events (or coach your hostesses to do so), and follow-up each with a personal message about the exclusive event for your VIP guests. Would you invite 1500 people to your house? No. You’d invite your closest friends who you know are interested in the topic or product. And you’d make it personal for them. Carry that over to your online parties too.

Like with any new business, there is a right way and a wrong way! Remember when telesales people started marketing their wares over the brilliant new technique of using the phone. No one knew who was calling, so you could hijack their time to sell your wares. When people got used to it as soon as they knew that it was “one of those sales people they would either put the phone down immediately or not even pick up at all. Telesales people have such a bad reputation. It is not that they are bad people but companies used this very successful strategy to sell whatever it was that they were selling. In some ways Network Marketing has the same reputation because there are some, whom bombard their social media pages with their product, service or opportunity and reach out to people without even asking their name and where they are from. It is rude and insulting and no one likes it. This is where Attraction marketing is so different. We have a duty to take the controls and brush up on your social media skills. Learn about using Facebook for business, develop a good Instagram hashtag strategy, learn how to create your own original graphics, and read up on attraction marketing strategy. Your brand sells your product. You sell your personality. You CAN have a successful online business, without your friends unfriending, unfollowing, unsubscribing you.

This industry has absolutely given access to extraordinary rewards to so many people whom were struggling with creating a life of their dreams. I am absolutely convinced that this is what I have been searching for and already in the few short years that I have been in this business it has completely given me everything that I had ever hoped for. Travel, Time freedom, Personal development and incredible friendships that will be forever. It has cost me very little to be my own boss and I honestly wouldn’t hesitate to recommend you give it all you have – it will change your life!

Forget psychedelic rainbows, forget people are like purple tinged snowflakes, forget we’re all individuals. There are different ways to define success.

Granted success in business and in life means different things to different people, and should mean different things to different people. Whether or not you feel successful depends on how you define success — and on the trade offs you are willing to not just accept but embrace as you pursue your individual definition of success.

1. Growing Personally

A cliché is considered to be overused expressions, devoid of original thought. In some cases, it really isn’t necessary to express yourself in a more unique fashion. Acceptance of your personal development should be yours alone.

For example—life is a Safari (Journey). Well, it is! Successful people are constantly changing, growing, learning new things, and improving themselves. This all starts from within.

We will never be “finished” learning and growing as people. That is what makes the world so fascinating and amazing; the fact is, there is always something new out there if you are paying attention.

If you ever reach a point at which you think you finally know it all, that is merely a sign of how little you have really learned—and how far you have yet to go.

2. Having Goals

Once you realize that there will always be room to grow, you have to set challenging, yet reasonable, goals for how far and how fast you need to grow.

You should never achieve all of your goals. Once you achieve a goal, don’t just rest there–raise the bar!

It’s part of a self-fulfilling cycle: when we know we have room to grow, we can set goals for what we want to achieve, and so long as we have goals, we can keep an eye on the progress of our growth.

3. Encouraging Teamwork

By joining forces with people who share our same aspirations, we can help each other rise to greater heights than we could have ever imagined reaching on our own.

More often than not, team building is a necessary step toward success. A team enables you to combine your strengths with those of other people in order to create a better outcome for everyone involved.

The climb to the top doesn’t need to be a lonely one. By doing things together we become accountable, responsible and more is achieved.

4. Making a Difference

Successful people don’t wish to simply create the best outcome for themselves. A truly successful person is one who wants to leave a lasting, positive legacy.

There are those who resign themselves to an inability to leave a lasting impact on the world – a Legacy that can be left behind and remembered. Others simply could care less about the lasting consequences of their actions. In actuality, neither of these people are truly successful.

A successful person achieves their goals, then lends a hand to help others achieve more. The more we grow internally we find that Service is the most powerful legacy in the world.

5. Establishing Financial Security

It’s certainly true that money can’t buy happiness; however, financial security can make a lot of things in life much easier. When you don’t have the burden of worrying about basic sustenance, it’s a lot easier to focus on more long-term goals.

Work to create financial stability, and identify areas that could jeopardize that firm foundation. Look for opportunities to grow your wealth without it becoming an obsession.

6. Enhancing the Family Structure

Successful people are able to create a sustainable work-life balance. They recognize the different roles they play within the family unit and the responsibilities they have to their loved ones.

Support groups are essential. Perseverance is one of the most valuable qualities among successful individuals. Without love and support from other people, many would-be prosperous people have floundered.

7. Promoting Equality

This is one of my favorite subjects in my existence , in fact I have a Charity that deals with gender equality. Successful people strive to create equality across all different perceived divides – race, sex, gender, religion, nationality. All people should have an equal chance to succeed. There is nothing to fear from people who are different; in fact, it is our differences, the combined lessons and strengths gained from our unique experiences, which are our greatest strengths.

Using a position of influence to enhance the odds of success for someone else is a mark of character, maturity and integrity. Helping others to break through their own resistances can improve your personal prosperity.

8. Find what you love to do.

Honestly, Do you love what you do?

It is so difficult for children whom are about to leave school to determine what they want to do for the rest of their lives. I did not have a clue what I wanted to do when I left school and my life has taken many twists and turns to get to where I am now. In a place that I totally love. The career path will not always be easy. More often than not, our work will challenge us and force us to do things with which we might not be 100 percent confident. However, at its core, we should ultimately enjoy what we do. If not, then why would we spend so much time doing it?

Think about how much time the average person dedicates to work. Now, if you are spending all of that time being miserable, that is hardly being successful.

If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing, don’t sweat it. That’s not an indictment of you, your character, your morals or work ethic. But rather than trying to suffer through, why not go find something else which makes you happy?

9. Being Flexible and Fantastic Elastic

We must set clear, defined and realistic goals for ourselves. However, the means by which we achieve those goals are oftentimes much more fluid.

Successful people are not rigid or unmovable; in fact, quite the opposite. Successful people are adaptable. No matter what comes along, we must be able to go with the flow.

Going with the Flow means adapting to different situations but doing it out of a place of wholesome passion.

10. Meeting Life’s Challenges

Flexibility is a key to confronting challenges; however, don’t misunderstand what is meant by “flexibility.” We have to be able to adapt to the specifics of each challenge, but that doesn’t mean we can buckle before them.

Recognize the dynamics and specific needs of any given situation. Once you identify the specifics of the situation, tailor your approach and meet challenges head-on without compromise.

11. Social

Companies also measure success by the good they accomplish for society. Some have specific social goals, such as improving the environment or providing educational opportunities for children through the products and services they offer. Others have a very high commitment to charitable giving and being good corporate citizens.

12. Longevity

With the number of businesses that fail or start out strong only to stumble in the competitive marketplace a few years later, another measure of business success is the ability to sustain success in the turbulent, ever changing business world.

Each person’s understanding of success will be different, depending on the situation in which that person finds themselves. However, fundamentally, these twelve core principles will always serve as the building blocks of success.

—

Does this sound appealing to you?

Do you want to continue to grow with value and integrity?

Do you want to have flexibility in your life so that you can do what you desire?

If you do, then why don’t you try to be open minded and take a look at an opportunity that may be just up your alley and something that you have been searching for, for a long time.

Many people believe operating an online business is easy, not worth it, fake, hard to do, impossible, and their emotions are all over the place and so widely mixed and mistaken. I am here to shatter those beliefs and false perceptions to the majority that have these negative views with online businesses.

The biggest challenges are not the external ones like funding, coding, technology or talent acquisition. Those challenges can be fun, as long as you view them the right way. The biggest challenges are the internal ones, like stress, fear and self-doubt.

Building an online business isn’t for everyone and I will describe to you a few reasons why below. My hope is you will make a definite decision – after reading this article – and if you are a good candidate to begin building or go to work for someone else if you find you don’t have what it takes to be a successful online owner/ceo.

1. I’m not really an entrepreneur.

Let me toss out one of the most over-asked and under-answered questions on the planet: What is an entrepreneur?

Nobody knows for sure. People try to define the word — from government organizations to columnists. We have little more than mere definitions, cobbled together by people trying to make sense of the vast entrepreneurial arena.

If you think you’re not an entrepreneur, then you’re approaching the issue from the wrong angle. The right angle is I want to start a business…sell something, do something, invent, create, dream and grow. If you start from the “am I an entrepreneur?” question then you may accidentally disqualify yourself before you even begin.

2. I’m not going to succeed.

“Failure” is pandemic in the entrepreneurial community, so much so that “fail fast, fail often” is a Silicon Valley mantra.

What’s an entrepreneur to do with this kind of data? You can respond in one of two ways:

Believe that you will fail

Fight failure

If you want to run your business into the ground — or never get it off the ground — then firmly place yourself in the massive fail category. If, on the other hand, you want to succeed, then readjust your beliefs.

3. I’m not worth that much.

Often, entrepreneurs sell themselves short, because they have little self-worth. The prototypical entrepreneur — scrappy, resourceful, smart and aggressive — may not have aspirations toward greatness or wealth. But in order to build a successful business, the entrepreneur needs some business drive.

Maybe you fear being greedy. Maybe you are a champion for making things low cost or available for everyone. That’s OK. At the same time, you must realize that you deserve to raise your prices, make profits, build a business and succeed for the long term.

4. I’m not a salesperson.

Can you succeed as an entrepreneur without a sales bone in your body? Heck yes. Sales and marketing are important, but aren’t essential to the entrepreneur’s success.

You don’t have to be the traditional salesperson to succeed as an entrepreneur. Do you have to sell something? Well, yeah, sort of. But you don’t have to be a salesperson to sell.

What do you do then if you don’t sell?

Stay excited. Passion is one of the entrepreneur’s most powerful assets.

Be an expert. Those who master a niche are destined to profit from it. As you position yourself as a top-shelf professional in your field, you’ll inevitably grow.

Build your personal brand. If you want to build your business, build your personal brand. It’s one of the fastest ways to growth without intentionally selling.

Form the right partnerships. Successful entrepreneurs don’t fly solo. If you aren’t the “sales type” then find a partner who can do the dirty work for you.

5. I’m not a good leader.

Like the word “entrepreneur,” the word “leader” is slippery to the point where it’s almost useless.

Some entrepreneurs are scared off from their entrepreneurial passions because they fear leadership, whatever that is. To overcome this mental hurdle, the aspiring entrepreneur should dismiss from her mind the fuzzy word, leadership, and replace it with a metaphor, not a word.

Entrepreneurs are on a journey. Other people join them on the journey. If someone wants to claim the title of “leader” or “CEO” or “manager,” then fine. But keep the metaphor in mind — the journey. Growing a business isn’t about a single person asserting his or her control or “leadership,” but rather rallying others in the pursuit of progress.

Whether you think of yourself as a good leader or no leader at all is of little consequence. You need to be capable of building a business, and that’s what matters.

Conclusion

Would I encourage everyone to start a business? The answer is still no, but I want to qualify that response. There are far more people who should and can start businesses. The tyranny of mental hurdles is so acute that many would-be entrepreneurs start to quit before they even start.

If you’re going to build something, it’s time to go for it. Mental hurdles, be gone.

If I had a penny for every time I heard the phrase, “So I have this idea…”.

The truth is, ideas are only as good as the people who execute them–something that I had to learn. Having an idea, no matter how smart or unique or interesting, isn’t enough. The difference between success and failure has very little to do with the actual idea, and far more about the people who bring that idea to life.

In this day and age, Business is a tricky thing and unless, you are on top of the game all the time, the chances for failure are very high. Research has shown that not more than 10% of all new ventures go past the second year of their existence and that entrepreneurs often end up on the wrong side of success.

Implementation & Execution is everything.

Failure isn’t so much a gamble you’re taking on your idea, but rather the result of the way you choose to bring that idea to life. Nobody sits down and comes up with a perfect idea. Nobody starts at square one with a flawless concept. In the end, success is the result of an endless stream of pivots, adjustments, good habits, and collaborative efforts.

So, why do so many entrepreneurs fail? It’s not because of their ideas (although, come on, sometimes an idea just doesn’t have legs).

Here are some reasons..

No Clear Cut Vision

The easiest way to fail as a business person is to set out to do business without a clear cut vision. Your vision and mission helps you stay focused and on-track at all times.

Improper Management Of Finance

Entrepreneurs fail when they divert the money for their business to personal use. Adequate financial knowledge is necessary to effectively manage and run your business. When you start out with little or no knowledge in this regard, you are bound to fail.

Lack of Time Management Skills

If you do not manage your time well, you are sure headed for failure. Time management skill is important if you want to be successful as an entrepreneur. Forming a habit around keeping and maximizing time is highly needful.

Allowing Family & Friends To Interfere

When you consistently allow family and friends to interfere in your business decision, it might likely ruin your business. As much as lies within your power, you must keep family and friends at bay.

Not Keeping Your Business Secret

Every business owner must keep his business secret to himself and if possible with some few selected trusted partners. When you make your business secret common knowledge, other people may likely copy it and in no time you will be thrown out of your industry.

Lack of Management Skills

Lack of managerial skills can ruin any business. Every entrepreneur must seek to always upgrade and refresh their management skills if they indeed run their venture well.

Not Hiring The Right People

When you hire the wrong people for the job, it spells doom. There is a whole lot of calamity that could befall your brand. Make it a point of duty to hire the best hands.

Disregard For Business Etiquette

When you disrespect business etiquette, you are heading for failure. You must obey the ethics of the profession you belong to. There is no ‘rob Peter to pay Paul’ style when adhering strictly to business ethics comes to play.

Not Focusing on Your Core Products

It is good to have an idea of a lot of things, but it pays to master a few things. One of the recipe for failure as an entrepreneur is to be a Jack of all trades and Master of none. You have to ‘take the bull by the horn’, and carve a niche in your particular area of interest.

Wrong Business Decision

Wrong business decision is one of the major reasons why entrepreneurs fail. To be successful as an entrepreneur, you must master the art of making right decision promptly. If the decisions you make constantly bring in positive results, then you’re on the right track.

Wrong Financial Investment

It is very good to re-invest part of your profit to your business; but any wrong financial investment can drain the capital of your business. Remember, your capital is the life-line of your business, guard it with all you’ve got.

Not Paying Attention To Quality & Excellence

When you fail to pay attention to quality and excellence, you are planning to fail as an entrepreneur. People will always seek quality and excellence; to remain in business, you must continue to give it to them without abating.

Lack of Regard And Respect For Customers

Having customers patronize you is the number one reason why you are in business as an entrepreneur. If you are fond of treating your customers badly, then be rest assured you’ll be out of business soon. Your Prospects and Customers are your busienss – without them we have nothing!

Not Paying Attention To Your Health

It is only those that are healthy and alive that would want to do business. If you don’t work hard to remain healthy, it means you’ll be out of business sooner than you expect. Your health is key to the success of your brand.

Over Promising and Under Delivering

Some entrepreneurs’ think that over promising is what makes advertising sweet. When you consistently over- promise and you don’t have the capacity to always deliver, be sure that your customers will become weary of you and they are likely to leave you soon.

Working With The Wrong Values

It is very important to work with the right set of values as an entrepreneur. When you work with wrong values, you are sure headed for failure. Your values define how you do your business and it’s very easy for your customers to notice your values from the way you do business with them.

Inconsistency and Lack of Honesty

People don’t like doing business with anyone who is inconsistent and lacks honesty. You can hardly survive in the business world if you are not consistent. Honesty builds trust, consistency encourages value.

Being Over Ambitious

It is good to be ambitious, but when you become over-ambitious as a business person, you will be tempted to want to cut corners and that will surely lead to your down fall.

Mixing Emotion With Business

When you are fond of mixing emotion with business, it will sure affect some of your key business decisions and it can affect your business negatively. If you’re having personal emotional issues, solve them and don’t mix them with business activities; they’ll do more harm than good.

Doing Everything Yourself

The fact that you are the owner of the business and you want to maximize profits doesn’t mean you can do everything yourself. Learn to delegate and outsource when necessary, if you truly wants to avoid failure.

Nobody decides to fail at anything in life. It is the inability to follow through some principles that causes failure. As an entrepreneur you must be ready at all time to make adjustments in areas where you know you aren’t living up to expectation.

When we try to do thing on our own, it is so much harder than doing it together and delegating. We can grow so much faster by offsetting the workload. Remember, the reason why we are in this business is FREEDOM so that is what we should be doing for ourselves!

In the last few years, online communities have been popping up all over the internet. We’ve seen everything from college alumni and sports groups to dog-lover forums to business associations. Impressively, more than 40% of people say they engage with a brand online or in social networks according to a study conducted by Ipsos. But the purpose of online communities is ever expanding, due to their social nature and usefulness on both personal and professional levels.

For a multitude of reasons, businesses have put online communities at the forefront of their marketing plans as a major benefit to their customers as well as their bottom line. Here, we’ll explore ten reasons why people are joining online business communities and why they are no longer just a place to “chat” but, rather, a source for information, camaraderie, support, self promotion and a lot more.

Starting a business changed my life for the better. But I too’ed and fro’ed for a couple years before starting I wasn’t sure whether I’d be able to commit to a long term plan. I remember hearing that it takes 10 years to become an expert in anything, and I didn’t want to start something if I wasn’t going to follow through. When the financial crisis hit I figured it was now or never.

Now that I’m years in, there’s not a day that goes by where I’m not thankful for joining. I understand that a lot of you will say that you don’t have a good business idea or don’t have a clue as to how to start. The reality is I had no business idea either. I really was jumping in feet first with no knowledge of the industry at all.

But now, things are so much better than having a day job – 90% less stress and 100% more income. People always work towards starting something new when the time is “perfect” but guess what – if that is the case you are going to be waiting a long long time. Perfect does not exist.The key is to just launch and then figure things out as you go. You can afford to do so nowadays because the cost to launch and maintain is so cheap.

Connection to Other Professionals in a Niche

Let’s face it, entrepreneurship can be lonely! So to counter feelings of isolation and the quiet of a solo office, many entrepreneurs have turned to online communities as a way to meet and connect with others. Our businesses are often complex, and it can be difficult for even our own families and friends to understand their nuances, let alone have a conversation about them. Online communities are a great way to connect with people in your niche that do understand and speak your “language.” They serve as a sounding board where we can gather knowledge, advice and opinions of others that help us succeed in an otherwise lonely work environment.

Continuous Learning Opportunity

For many niche businesses, it’s often difficult to find learning resources. This is where online communities offer a real-time solution for staying current with the most recent technological tools, trends and insights related to your specific business and learning practical ways to apply them day-to-day. In addition, because of the ease of access to online communities, you never miss a thing with regard to updates, new releases and cutting-edge information. With online communities and social networks, information sharing is always real time. Lastly, online communities provide instant access to industry expert perspectives and to a multitude of other resources you may never find elsewhere.

Easy Access to Q & A and Feedback

There’s nothing worse that sitting alone at your desk, stumped with issues related to your business that make your workday come to a screeching halt. For some businesses, there is no help line to call. There is nothing better than being able to quickly access an expert in your industry to ask a question and have it answered right away. Also, it’s always great to get other people’s perspectives on business-related issues and how to improve systems and processes for better work efficiency. This is where an online community begins to become not only a great resource, but a time and money saver as well.

Tips & Tricks

Have you ever read a how-to book, trying to learn a simple skill that’s not necessarily something you can learn in school or from a class? The how-to books are great and all with step-by-step instructions for all kinds of things, but they often lack the shortcuts and tricks that can improve processes and performance. Online business communities give you easy access to peers with great insights for doing things better, faster, easier–the ones that make the idea light bulbs come on. Online communities can be such time-savers in this regard. Simply posting a “I’m looking for a faster/better way to…” post can generate instant response from literally hundreds of community members, depending on the forum.

Collaboration

People really do love to help each other. In fact, in a study conducted by the Society of New Communications Research, it was found that 80% of people who join online communities do so for the sole purpose of helping others. Collaboration is made easy in online communities due to their social nature. Never before have we been able to consider people we’ve never met in person “colleagues.” In the same research study, 40% of people online spend more time engaging in online professional networks that with friends and family. So what does this tell us? Online communities are changing the way we do business.

Exposure

Let us not forget, we still have a business to market, right? And online networking, while enabling a sense of community, learning and camaraderie, can also provide an opportunity for practically blatant advertising. What better way to advertise a business than by posting a question related to your business in an online community that is virtually visible to people literally around the world? What better way to let your business light shine than to ask your online community’s opinion on something such as your logo design? Online communities offer a platform for endless exposure and opportunity.

Helps Build Credibility

There’s nothing like visibility to make your product or service credible, but getting visibility in traditional media is far from easy. Online marketing gives you the opportunity to develop thought leadership through content marketing, become a published author of an eBook or blog and build a following on social media. All this helps to make you a household name.

Gives You a Strong Online Voice

By building up your online profile you develop a powerful presence in the virtual world. This puts you in a position of influence, enabling you to establish yourself—and your company—as industry experts. You can develop your brand’s personality and humanize your organization by creating buyer personas to target using a one-to-one approach. And if there are industry battles to be fought, having a voice is all-important to enable you to make a difference.

Is More Scalable

Scalability hasn’t always had the strong rep it has nowadays. In the past, when profitability was down often the first thing to go was a “luxury” function like Marketing. Now, however, if you have a few months of a down economy you can simply scale back on your business expenditure for a while, unlike the days when you had to pay upfront for a billboard or advertising campaign.

Levels The Playing Fields

Few small and medium-sized enterprises have the funds to compete with the big guys. Online business levels the playing fields by making it possible for your company to project itself as a professional organization regardless of size. With equal access to social media marketing, email marketing, website and content marketing, there’s nothing to stop you coming across as strongly as your biggest competitor. Except your self-limitations, of course, which we can help you with too.

If you feel like you have imposed Self limitations on yourself, I would be happy to chat to you about your reservations so reach out to me and we can have a brainstorming session together.